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Book The Hard Sell

    Book Details:
  • Author : Evan Hughes
  • Publisher : Doubleday
  • Release : 2022-01-18
  • ISBN : 038554491X
  • Pages : 227 pages

Download or read book The Hard Sell written by Evan Hughes and published by Doubleday. This book was released on 2022-01-18 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inside story of a band of entrepreneurial upstarts who made millions selling painkillers—until their scheme unraveled, putting them at the center of a landmark criminal trial. • SOON TO BE THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE PAIN HUSTLERS STARRING EMILY BLUNT AND CHRIS EVANS "Unfolds with the velocity and verve of a Scorsese film…A tour de force."—Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing John Kapoor had already amassed a small fortune in pharmaceuticals when he founded Insys Therapeutics. It was the early 2000s, a boom time for painkillers, and he developed a novel formulation of fentanyl, the most potent opioid on the market. Kapoor, a brilliant immigrant scientist with relentless business instincts, was eager to make the most of his innovation. He gathered around him an ambitious group of young lieutenants. His head of sales—an unstable and unmanageable leader, but a genius of persuasion—built a team willing to pull every lever to close a sale, going so far as to recruit an exotic dancer ready to scrape her way up. They zeroed in on the eccentric and suspect doctors receptive to their methods. Employees at headquarters did their part by deceiving insurance companies. The drug was a niche product, approved only for cancer patients in dire condition, but the company’s leadership pushed it more widely, and together they turned Insys into a Wall Street sensation. But several insiders reached their breaking point and blew the whistle. They sparked a sprawling investigation that would lead to a dramatic courtroom battle, breaking new ground in the government’s fight to hold the drug industry accountable in the spread of addictive opioids. In The Hard Sell, National Magazine Award–finalist Evan Hughes lays bare the pharma playbook. He draws on unprecedented access to insiders of the Insys saga, from top executives to foot soldiers, from the patients and staff of far-flung clinics to the Boston investigators who treated the case as a drug-trafficking conspiracy, flipping cooperators and closing in on the key players. With colorful characters and true suspense, The Hard Sell offers a bracing look not just at Insys, but at how opioids are sold at the point they first enter the national bloodstream—in the doctor’s office.

Book Drug Use for Grown Ups

Download or read book Drug Use for Grown Ups written by Dr. Carl L. Hart and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-01-11 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Hart’s argument that we need to drastically revise our current view of illegal drugs is both powerful and timely . . . when it comes to the legacy of this country’s war on drugs, we should all share his outrage.” —The New York Times Book Review From one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, a powerful argument that the greatest damage from drugs flows from their being illegal, and a hopeful reckoning with the possibility of their use as part of a responsible and happy life Dr. Carl L. Hart, Ziff Professor at Columbia University and former chair of the Department of Psychology, is one of the world's preeminent experts on the effects of so-called recreational drugs on the human mind and body. Dr. Hart is open about the fact that he uses drugs himself, in a happy balance with the rest of his full and productive life as a researcher and professor, husband, father, and friend. In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use--not drugs themselves--have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes. But one problem kept cropping up: the evidence from his research did not support his hypothesis. From inside the massively well-funded research arm of the American war on drugs, he saw how the facts did not support the ideology. The truth was dismissed and distorted in order to keep fear and outrage stoked, the funds rolling in, and Black and brown bodies behind bars. Drug Use for Grown-Ups will be controversial, to be sure: the propaganda war, Dr. Hart argues, has been tremendously effective. Imagine if the only subject of any discussion about driving automobiles was fatal car crashes. Drug Use for Grown-Ups offers a radically different vision: when used responsibly, drugs can enrich and enhance our lives. We have a long way to go, but the vital conversation this book will generate is an extraordinarily important step.

Book Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic

Download or read book Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-09-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

Book Hard Drugs

    Book Details:
  • Author : Celicia Scott
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2014-11-17
  • ISBN : 1422288072
  • Pages : 110 pages

Download or read book Hard Drugs written by Celicia Scott and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-11-17 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hard drugs like cocaine, heroin, LSD, and PCP can hurt your body and change the way your mind works. And it only takes trying these drugs once to put you at risk. Discover the true consequences of using the world's most dangerous drugs. Learn how hard drugs damage your mind and body, and how they can get you in trouble with the law. Find out about the downside of hard drugs!

Book Fentanyl  Inc

Download or read book Fentanyl Inc written by Ben Westhoff and published by Atlantic Monthly Press. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A four-year investigation into the world of synthetic drugs—from black market factories to users & dealers to harm reduction activists—and what it revealed. A deeply human story, Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of a hazardous and illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. “A whole new crop of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape,” writes Ben Westhoff. “These are known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory, and are much more potent than traditional drugs” —and all-too-often tragically lethal. Drugs like fentanyl, K2, and Spice—and those with arcane acronyms like 25i-NBOMe—were all originally conceived in legitimate laboratories for proper scientific and medicinal purposes. Their formulas were then hijacked and manufactured by rogue chemists, largely in China, who change their molecular structures to stay ahead of the law, making the drugs’ effects impossible to predict. Westhoff has infiltrated this shadowy world. He tracks down the little-known scientists who invented these drugs and inadvertently killed thousands, as well as a mysterious drug baron who turned the law upside down in his home country of New Zealand. Westhoff visits the shady factories in China from which these drugs emanate, providing startling and original reporting on how China’s vast chemical industry operates, and how the Chinese government subsidizes it. Poignantly, he chronicles the lives of addicted users and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug awareness organizers in the United States and Europe. Together they represent the shocking and riveting full anatomy of a calamity we are just beginning to understand. From its depths, as Westhoff relates, are emerging new strategies that may provide essential long-term solutions to the drug crisis that has affected so many. “Timely and agonizing. . . . An impressive work of investigative journalism.” —USA Today “Westhoff explores the many-tentacled world of illicit opioids, from the streets of East St. Louis to Chinese pharmaceutical companies, from music festivals deep in the Michigan woods to sanctioned ‘shooting up rooms’ in Barcelona, in this frank, insightful, and occasionally searing exposé. . . . Westhoff’s well-reported and researched work will likely open eyes, slow knee-jerk responses, and start much needed conversations.” —Publishers Weekly “Our 25 Favorite Books of 2019” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Best Books of 2019” —Buzzfeed “Best Nonfiction of 2019” —Kirkus Reviews “50 Best Books of 2019” —Daily Telegraph “Best Nonfiction Books of 2019” —Tyler Cowen “Best Books of 2019” —Yahoo Finance

Book Drug Misuse

Download or read book Drug Misuse written by National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sets out clear recommendations, based on the best available evidence, for healthcare staff on how to work with people who misuse drugs (specifically opioids, stimulants and cannabis) to significantly improve their treatment and care.

Book Illegal Drugs

    Book Details:
  • Author : Paul Gahlinger
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Release : 2003-12-30
  • ISBN : 9780452285057
  • Pages : 484 pages

Download or read book Illegal Drugs written by Paul Gahlinger and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-12-30 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does Ecstasy cause brain damage? Why is crack more addictive than cocaine? What questions regarding drugs are legal to ask in a job interview? When does marijuana possession carry a greater prison sentence than murder? Illegal Drugs is the first comprehensive reference to offer timely, pertinent information on every drug currently prohibited by law in the United States. It includes their histories, chemical properties and effects, medical uses and recreational abuses, and associated health problems, as well as addiction and treatment information. Additional survey chapters discuss general and historical information on illegal drug use, the effect of drugs on the brain, the war on drugs, drugs in the workplace, the economy and culture of illegal drugs, and information on thirty-three psychoactive drugs that are legal in the United States, from caffeine, alcohol and tobacco to betel nuts and kava kava.

Book The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine

Download or read book The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine written by Richard K. Ries and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 4573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the midst of an addiction epidemic, this newly updated edition of The American Society of Addiction Medicine Principles of Addiction Medicine, 5th edition is the sought-after text every addiction researcher and care provider needs. This comprehensive reference text dedicates itself to both the science and treatment of addiction. You’ll receive a thorough grounding in both the scientific principles behind the causes of addiction and the practical aspects of clinical care. Chapters are written by recognized experts, covering areas such as the basic science of addiction medicine; diagnosis, assessment and early intervention; pharmacologic and behavioral interventions; mutual help and twelve-step; and co-occurring addiction, medical and psychiatric disorders—backed by the latest research data and successful treatment methods. Features: Numerous figures, tables and diagrams elucidate the text Chapters include case examples List of data research reports provided at end of each chapter NEW material on Prescription Drug Abuse, Club Drugs, Nursing Roles in Addressing Addiction, Conceptual and Treatment Issues in Behavioral Addictions, Rehabilitation Approaches to Pain Management, Comorbid Pain and Addiction, Pharmacotherapy for Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders, Preventing and Treating Substance Use Disorders in Military Personnel, and more.

Book Ten Drugs

    Book Details:
  • Author : Thomas Hager
  • Publisher : Abrams
  • Release : 2019-03-05
  • ISBN : 1683355318
  • Pages : 342 pages

Download or read book Ten Drugs written by Thomas Hager and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The stories are skillfully told and entirely entertaining . . . An expert, mostly feel-good book about modern medicine” from the award-winning author (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Behind every landmark drug is a story. It could be an oddball researcher’s genius insight, a catalyzing moment in geopolitical history, a new breakthrough technology, or an unexpected but welcome side effect discovered during clinical trials. Piece together these stories, as Thomas Hager does in this remarkable, century-spanning history, and you can trace the evolution of our culture and the practice of medicine. Beginning with opium, the “joy plant,” which has been used for 10,000 years, Hager tells a captivating story of medicine. His subjects include the largely forgotten female pioneer who introduced smallpox inoculation to Britain, the infamous knockout drops, the first antibiotic, which saved countless lives, the first antipsychotic, which helped empty public mental hospitals, Viagra, statins, and the new frontier of monoclonal antibodies. This is a deep, wide-ranging, and wildly entertaining book. “[An] absorbing new book.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] well-written and engaging chronicle.” —The Wall Street Journal “Lucidly informative and compulsively readable.” —Publishers Weekly “Entertaining [and] insightful.” —Booklist “Well-written, well-researched and fascinating to read Ten Drugs provides an insightful look at how drugs have shaped modern medical practices. Towards the end of the book Hager writes that he ‘came away surprised by some of the things he had learned.’ I had the very same reaction.” —Penny Le Couteur, coauthor of Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Book Drugs of Abuse  Black and White

Download or read book Drugs of Abuse Black and White written by U.s. Department of Justice and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-01-11 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The abuse of drugs is not a harmless personal decision: there are real, long-lasting, and devastating outcomes for those who abuse drugs and for their families, friends, and communities. And for some, the outcome may be lethal. With the knowledge contained in this edition, you can make smart choices for yourself, and help others avoid the tragedy that inevitably comes from drug abuse and addiction. Whether you purchase drugs from a pharmacy, or you get them from a friend, knowing the truth about them will help you understand the dangers they pose. Measured in American lives, health, safety, and resources, this cost is enormous: More young Americans die from drugs than suicides, firearms, or school violence; The use of illicit drugs, and the non-medical use of prescription drugs, directly led to the death of 38,000 Americans in 2006, nearly as many who died in automobile accidents; The only disease that affects more people than substance abuse in America today is heart disease; Substance abuse is the single largest contributor to crime in the United States; In the latest year measured, the direct cost of drug abuse was estimated at $52 billion, with indirect costs of $128 billion. I believe none of this is necessary, and that with accurate, honest information about drugs, more Americans will make the right choices. Drugs of Abuse is designed to be a reliable resource on the most popularly abused drugs. This publication delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way, combined with scores of precise photographs shot to scale. We believe that Drugs of Abuse fulfills an important educational need in our society. Around the world and across the nation, the dedicated men and women of the DEA are working hard to investigate and arrest the traffickers of dangerous drugs, such as those described here. They help keep our schools and neighborhoods safe and secure. But just as important, they are working hard to educate America's youth, their parents, and their teachers about the very real dangers of illegal drugs. Drugs of Abuse is an important step in that direction.

Book Drug Dealer  MD

    Book Details:
  • Author : Anna Lembke
  • Publisher : JHU Press
  • Release : 2016-11-15
  • ISBN : 1421421402
  • Pages : 187 pages

Download or read book Drug Dealer MD written by Anna Lembke and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The disturbing connection between well-meaning physicians and the prescription drug epidemic. Three out of four people addicted to heroin probably started on a prescription opioid, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, 16,000 people die each year as a result of prescription opioid overdose. But perhaps the most frightening aspect of the prescription drug epidemic is that it’s built on well-meaning doctors treating patients with real problems. In Drug Dealer, MD, Dr. Anna Lembke uncovers the unseen forces driving opioid addiction nationwide. Combining case studies from her own practice with vital statistics drawn from public policy, cultural anthropology, and neuroscience, she explores the complex relationship between doctors and patients, the science of addiction, and the barriers to successfully addressing drug dependence and addiction. Even when addiction is recognized by doctors and their patients, she argues, many doctors don’t know how to treat it, connections to treatment are lacking, and insurance companies won’t pay for rehab. Full of extensive interviews—with health care providers, pharmacists, social workers, hospital administrators, insurance company executives, journalists, economists, advocates, and patients and their families—Drug Dealer, MD, is for anyone whose life has been touched in some way by addiction to prescription drugs. Dr. Lembke gives voice to the millions of Americans struggling with prescription drugs while singling out the real culprits behind the rise in opioid addiction: cultural narratives that promote pills as quick fixes, pharmaceutical corporations in cahoots with organized medicine, and a new medical bureaucracy focused on the bottom line that favors pills, procedures, and patient satisfaction over wellness. Dr. Lembke concludes that the prescription drug epidemic is a symptom of a faltering health care system, the solution for which lies in rethinking how health care is delivered.

Book Marijuana As Medicine

    Book Details:
  • Author : Institute of Medicine
  • Publisher : National Academies Press
  • Release : 2000-12-30
  • ISBN : 0309065313
  • Pages : 216 pages

Download or read book Marijuana As Medicine written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-12-30 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.

Book Blitzed

    Book Details:
  • Author : Norman Ohler
  • Publisher : HarperCollins
  • Release : 2017-03-07
  • ISBN : 1328664090
  • Pages : 307 pages

Download or read book Blitzed written by Norman Ohler and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller, Norman Ohler's Blitzed is a "fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich” (Washington Post). The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of a form of crystal meth—the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs—ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin—administered by his personal doctor. Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows. “Delightfully nuts.”—The New Yorker

Book Drugs of Abuse

    Book Details:
  • Author : U. S. Department Justice
  • Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
  • Release : 2012-06-14
  • ISBN : 9781477663578
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Drugs of Abuse written by U. S. Department Justice and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2012-06-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The abuse of drugs is not a harmless personal decision: there are real, long-lasting, and devastating outcomes for those who abuse drugs and for their families, friends, and communities. And for some, the outcome may be lethal. With the knowledge contained in this edition, you can make smart choices for yourself, and help others avoid the tragedy that inevitably comes from drug abuse and addiction. Whether you purchase drugs from a pharmacy, or you get them from a friend, knowing the truth about them will help you understand the dangers they pose. Measured in American lives, health, safety, and resources, this cost is enormous: More young Americans die from drugs than suicides, firearms, or school violence; The use of illicit drugs, and the non-medical use of prescription drugs, directly led to the death of 38,000 Americans in 2006, nearly as many who died in automobile accidents; The only disease that affects more people than substance abuse in America today is heart disease; Substance abuse is the single largest contributor to crime in the United States; In the latest year measured, the direct cost of drug abuse was estimated at $52 billion, with indirect costs of $128 billion. I believe none of this is necessary, and that with accurate, honest information about drugs, more Americans will make the right choices. Drugs of Abuse is designed to be a reliable resource on the most popularly abused drugs. This publication delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way, combined with scores of precise photographs shot to scale. We believe that Drugs of Abuse fulfills an important educational need in our society. Around the world and across the nation, the dedicated men and women of the DEA are working hard to investigate and arrest the traffickers of dangerous drugs, such as those described here. They help keep our schools and neighborhoods safe and secure. But just as important, they are working hard to educate America's youth, their parents, and their teachers about the very real dangers of illegal drugs. Drugs of Abuse is an important step in that direction. This book delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way. With the information in this guide, parents and caregivers can help their children make smart choices and avoid the consequences of drug abuse.~

Book Drugs without the hot air

    Book Details:
  • Author : David Nutt
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Release : 2020-01-16
  • ISBN : 0857844962
  • Pages : 449 pages

Download or read book Drugs without the hot air written by David Nutt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-01-16 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dangers of illegal drugs are well known and rarely disputed, but how harmful are alcohol and tobacco by comparison? The issue of what a drug is and how we should live with them affects us all: parents, teachers, users – anyone who has taken a painkiller or drunk a glass of wine. Written by renowned psychiatrist, Professor David Nutt, Drugs without the hot air casts a refreshingly honest light on drugs and answers crucial questions that are rarely ever disputed. What are we missing by banning medical research into magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis? Can they be sources of valuable treatments? How can psychedelics treat depression? Drugs without the hot air covers a wide range of topics, from addiction and whether addictive personalities exist to the role of cannabis in treating epilepsy, an overview on the opioid crisis, and an assessment of how harmful vaping is. This new expanded and revised second edition includes even more details on international policies, particularly in the US. David's research has won international support, reducing drug-related harm by introducing policies that are founded on scientific evidence. But there is still a lot to be done. Accessibly written, this much-awaited second edition is an important book for everyone that brings us all up to date with the 'war of drugs'.

Book Drugs  Brains  and Behavior

Download or read book Drugs Brains and Behavior written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Synthetic Cathinones

    Book Details:
  • Author : Jolanta B. Zawilska
  • Publisher : Springer
  • Release : 2018-04-16
  • ISBN : 3319787071
  • Pages : 215 pages

Download or read book Synthetic Cathinones written by Jolanta B. Zawilska and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-16 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decade, and particularly during the recent five years, a rapidly increasing number of novel psychoactive substance (NPSs), often marketed as “designer drugs”, “legal highs”, “herbal highs”, “research or intermediate chemicals” and “laboratory reagents”, has appeared on the drug market in an effort to bypass controlled substance legislation. NPSs encompass a wide range of different compounds and drug classes but had been dominated by synthetic cannabinomimetics and psychostimulatory synthetic cathinones, so-called β-keto amphetamines. Compounds from the later class were first detected in Europe in 2004, and since then 103 new cathinones have been identified and reported to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, with 57 during the last two years. Synthetic cathinones – novel addictive and stimulatory psychoactive substances is the first publication of this kind that provides readers with background on chemical structures, detection, prevalence and motivation of use of the very popular group of NPSs. This book also presents comprehensive overview of the mechanisms of action, pharmacological activity, and main metabolic pathways of synthetic cathinones, followed by a detailed discussion of the acute and chronic toxicity associated with the use of these substances. Written by international experts in the field, this multi-authored book is a valuable reference not only for scientists, clinicians and academics, but also for readers representing different professional background who are involved in educational-prophylactic activities directed to harm reduction of psychoactive compounds.